Saturday, December 12, 2020

Berlin's Studio Avalon Is Closing Down

No More Happy Surrender In Berlin's Paradisal Underworld Realm

Herrin Mercedes [L] and Lady Marlon [R] (image: Avalon website)

After reading about it, Dutch banged his head against the table for a long time. Amsterdam to Berlin is only 650km (400 miles) by car or about six hours' drive. One day, or so I told myself. Too late. At the end of October the famous Berlin dungeon closed down for good. The Avalon website reads: 

"suddenly you realize it's time to start something new and to let go of what was." [1]

Avalon is a legendary island featured in the Arthurian legend of the making of Britain. When you and I hear the name Avalon, we immediately think of that famous Berlin dungeon. Why it's modern founders choose that name, I don't know. Some believe the original Avalon was located around Glastonbury, which was an island in ancient times. Other contemporary suggestions for the location of Avalon ranged included paradisal underworld realms equated with the other side of the Earth [2] at the antipodes. Perhaps that was the reason.

Both the OWK and Studio Avalon opened their doors in the second half of the 1990s. Long after the OWK was forced to shut down it's Berlin counterpart went from strength to strength. Studio Avalon was the result of two passionate, dominant women: Herrin Mercedes und Lady Marlon.

Even if you've never visited the place, you seen at least some of its movies. Avalon was an early adapter of the many possibilities the internet offered and Avalon's team put out many videos under various labels.

Back then video still meant VHS, there was this series of documentaries on famous dungeons. Dungeon scenes were followed by interviews with house dommes. I vividly remember Lady Marlon talking about her love of human ponies, while Herrin Mercedes confesses about her passion for medical play. When she was in college, she trained as a nurse. Some years later Lady Marlon dropped from public view and Herrin Mercedes became the public face of Avalon. [3] How do I remember? Dutch always had kind of a weak spot for Herrin Mercedes. I still do.

Remember, Dutch was born this way Observing from a distance, the same must be true for Avalon's leading ladies. Medical femdom never crossed my mind until I read about Herrin Mercedes. Still scares me but under the right guidance... Not that anyone comes to mind...

In the real world, 23 years is a long time. Online it's forever. My kink education coincides with the rise of the internet. So did Berlin's Studio Avalon. Apart from the endless parade of awe-inspiring dommes, what made me a fan for life is how the dungeon and it's leading ladies showed the world just how beauty femdom can be. And why getting hurt is not always a bad thing.

This April, Herrin Mercedes wrote about a new dentist's chair on her personal blog. Six months later, Avalon is selling of its inventory. Makes me feel sad.

Best to remember the good things. Avalon made the world a better place by teaching it a thing or two about how beautiful femdom can be.

Thank you Lady Marlon. Thank you Herrin Mercedes. I'm sorry we never met. The Vanilla's may have their own mythological Avalon, but so does the Dark Side. Ours is better. Wishing you both and all the rest of the team the very best.

Thanks for reading everybody. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna bang my head some more. And it hurts, the wrong kind of pain.


 

[1] My translation of the German version, the English one is slightly shorter. "Aber plötzlich weißt Du es ist Zeit etwas Neues zu beginnen... und etwas Altes gehen zu lasse"

[2] Closest thing to the other side of the planet, calculated in a straight line from Berlin are the shores of New Zealand. Packing my bags right now, who knows what I'll discover.

[3] It's only then when I noticed her fondness of inward spikes. Bra's, underwear, shoes and lots more.

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